Days Past: Younger Days
by MBIII
Summary: This book is the direct sequel to 'Days Pasts: The Beginning of Days' (currently just called 'Days Past' on FanFiction). As such, you should not click on it unless you've read the previous book. To find the First book in the series, simply click on my name and find 'Days Past' under My Stories. DO NOT READ THE REVIEWS FOR THIS BOOK WITHOUT READING THE INTRO.
1. Intro to 'Younger Days'

Welcome back loyal reader of Day's Past. We gather now to christen this, the 2nd Book, _Days Past:_ _Younger_ _Days_. I'd like to begin by thanking those whose efforts made this moment possible. Me, myself, and I.  
However, these three guys, as impressive as they are, couldn't have made the story even remotely close to its current quality if not for the ever punctual and impressive Bays Milly or the impenetrable filter of Rachiibabes38. These two are the main editors for my _Days Past_ and are an immense help. Thank you both.

Now, if you've read the description, you might be wondering what I meant about the Reviews. Since this is the second book in a series, I fully expect you, and anyone else, to have already read read the first book.  
As such, I don't have to worry about potential new readers looking through the Reviews while trying to decide whether to start this book or not, they can do that with the first book's Reviews. This means that I am officially sanctioning any and all blatant spoiling in all chapter-relative Reviews. So, speak out to your hearts content, rant and rave about specific parts, and get as detailed as you want. No need to hold back. I only ask that spoilers be limited to those that happened before or during the chapter they were written to.  
If, at any point, you are behind on the chapter, but want to read through Reviews without seeing spoilers, do this: go to the Reviews page, find the drop down menu in the upper right-hand corner, and select the chapter you wish to limit Reviews to. This way, you won't see spoilers that happen ahead of where you're reading.

Also, I've decided to start replying openly to Reviews that ask questions of some kind, or just feel worth responding to. Previously I did this through PMs, mostly, but with the new blatant spoiler format of future Reviews, I figured I could have a more open dialogue with readers as well by placing responses to new reviews on the following Chapter. If anyone doesn't want their Review to be responded or have their response posted, either PM ahead of time or mention it your review and I'll either not respond or remove my current response.

Next point to make: I do not want anyone Favoriting this story. An odd seeming request, I'm sure, but with good reasoning. Since this is a sequel, I assume that everyone who Favorited the first book would also Favorite this one. Plus, this is only the second book in what I hope will be a long series, so, rather than having everyone's Favorite list filled with what is essentially is the same book, I'll consider book one to be the flagship/poster child, just like it is for Reviews.  
I am also concerned about the overall site list. Book one has acquired enough Favs as to currently be listed in the top 25 of all Ratchet and Clank fan-fictions on this site. I am extremely proud of this accomplishment and I have you all to thank, but, if I am to assume that this and following books will receive a relatively similar number of Favs, then I do not want to clutter the top 25 spots with several books from the same story-line. Especially if there will be 5-ish of them.

Feel free to Review and Follow as much as you want, though. This way you will still get updates when new chapters come out.

As a side note, I also thought it would be mildly funny to have an extremely large book that constantly shows up in the 'newly updated' list with a ton of Follows/Reviews and absolutely zero Favorites.

To anyone out there who has some artistic talent: I have none, so I ask that someone who does, please draw something to use for this book's title image. It can be anything you think fits the story or is appropriate.  
I made the Lombax and Cross-wrenches currently used for the first book's title image and I'd like something unique for this one as well. I'd love to commission some of the great Ratchet and Clank fan-artists I've seen around the web to do this, but I can't financially justify such a purchase at the moment. Hopefully one day soon though.  
I have heard of 'writing commissions' before and I would be willing to trade for images in this manner, however I don't want to sound presumptuous in thinking that my writing skills are worth the trade. Let my know if you're interested, though.

Now, a bit about the current status of the first book. It is still officially being 'rewritten' and this is because I went waaaaaaaaaaayyyyy overboard with the chapters it's currently up to (16 and onward). I didn't really remove anything, I just added a t'ton' of extra details. You'll see soon... hopefully. Everything after that though will just be a 'rewording' instead of a 'rewrite'. If you go back a reread the rest of the book (after the flashback chapters) you probably won't notice much of anything different, except a significant reduction in spelling and grammatical errors. Unless you missed something the first time, that is. There should be a list of future and past changes to book one written on my profile page.

I will also be posting news and further notes to this 'intro' chapter as shown below:

* * *

 **UPDATE April 28th, 2016:**

I had planned on publishing this book in concordance with the new Ratchet and Clank movie/game, however the game was released at varying dates around the world (more varying than the movie at least) and, well... I wasn't actually finished with the first chapter. Now I am publishing on the day of the movie's release. Oddly though, in the U.S. the movie isn't supposed to premier until the 29th of April, however, it is currently late on the 28th and I have just got done watching it (it was awesome by the way). Not sure why the early showing, but I'm OK with it.


	2. A Girl Back Home

Sorana checked the time on her digi-pad yet again as she sat waiting in the academy's main starport, located in the Military Field. Kaden's shuttle was due to arrive any minute now and she was beginning to get nervous.

She hadn't spoken to Kaden since before the Capture the Depot match and she never did manage to work up the courage to visit him in the hospital. She still felt awful about it and was terrified of the idea that one of her closest friends might be upset with her because of it.

Still, she was determined to see him now and to put things right. Even if Kaden was angry with her, she would simply explain her reasons. If that failed, then she would just remind him of all the times he'd screwed up. After all, as amazing as he was, he was still just a lombax.

He definitely wasn't unbeatable and he clearly wasn't un-killable

' _He wasn't unobtainable...'_

A static-filled, robot voice rang out over the local intercom, breaking Sorana from her thoughts, "Science Field Shuttle, 319 inbound," it stated dully.

She immediately recognized the designation of Kaden's shuttle, as she'd been going over it in her head repeatedly for what was likely half-an-hour now.

Sorana stood up from the starport waiting-chair where she'd been sitting and quickly straightened out her dress before turning to watch the distant speck that was shuttle 319 make its way toward the stardock on bright blue cones of plasma.

It arrived swiftly and, despite herself, Sorana's pulse began to quicken. She watched intently as the maneuvering jets of the shuttle cut out and the large hulk of metal fell into its mooring restraints. Just a few seconds later, the rear disembarkation-ramp on the ship cracked open and slowly began lowering itself onto the floor. Sorana took a deep breath as it did and fought to keep herself calm.

She reminded herself that her nerves were only frayed because of her own unnecessary thoughts. It was obvious, even to her, that Kaden wouldn't take something like not visiting him personally.

She tried to shake the thoughts out again, but they clung stubbornly to her psyche. She had reflected a great deal on her relationship with Kaden as of recently. All sorts of thoughts and ideas had come and gone, or stuck like glue while refusing to be discarded. At this point, she also worried that she wouldn't even be able to look him in the eye without a surge of these thoughts flooding her.

She told herself that she was being ridiculous. That all she was doing was meeting up with a friend that she'd known since she was in primary school, but she couldn't shake the feeling that it was somehow more than that... to her at least.

' _No!'_ she thought angrily to herself, interrupting her previous line of thought and shaking herself yet again.

She had already made the decision that there could be nothing more between Kaden and herself than the friendship they already shared. Her one and only concern now was to ensure that said friendship stayed intact and nothing more.

Reaffirmed in her belief, Sorana waited patiently for her friend to exit the shuttle.

But then, as the seconds began to tick by, far longer than they should have, she began to feel anxious again.

After what seemed like an agonizingly long time, Sorana realized that she had been holding her breath this whole time. On reflex, she casually looked down before covered her mouth with her hand, following proper etiquette. Suppressing the urge to inhale loudly, she carefully refilled her lungs with air, before once again chiding herself for her foolishness.

' _Kaden hasn't even come out yet and I'm already a mess,'_ she thought despondently. Again she felt the strong urge to leave and put this off for another day, but she had come this far and refused to back down now.

Still though, she wondered what could be taking the occupants so long to disembark and she lifted her head back up, returning her gaze to the shuttle's exit ramp.

Her newly regained breath was immediately caught in her throat as her eyes were greeted by the completely expected, yet somehow still surprising, figure of a tan furred Lombax strolling casually down the shuttle's walkway. The boy had his backpack slung familiarly over one shoulder and his eyes swept the area before him meticulously, as if looking for something.

Caught completely off guard by the very thing she'd waited nearly an hour for, Sorana looked around frantically until she spotted a nearby support pillar. A fraction of a second later, she had moved behind the structure, blocking herself off entirely from Kaden's view.

She blinked several times, with her back to the pillar, as common sense slowly reworked its way into her mind, _'What was she doing?'_ she questioned herself, dumbfounded by her own actions.

Her heart was now slamming into her ribcage. Whether it was from nervousness or the adrenaline rush that had somehow teleported her to her current hiding spot, she didn't know. What she did know was that she couldn't take much more of this

She needed to pull herself together and face Kaden now or else she wouldn't even be able to talk to him, let alone continue their friendship.

With one last, deep breath, Sorana set her jaw rigidly in determination and stepped out from behind the pillar. She immediately spotted Kaden again, but this time her childhood friend had his face glued to his digi-pad, seemingly without having found what he'd been looking for.

Before she could take another step forward, however, Kaden looked up again, and his eyes seemed to hone onto her like radar.

Again Sorana froze, like a dromax caught in headlights, but she had been resolute in her determination. Her legs locked up as she fought against their urge to move her behind the pillar again.

A wide, cheerful smile split the distant Kaden's face and a moment later and the young Lombax began waving his hand at her eagerly. This was yet another heart-jarring surprise to Sorana.

A large part of her mind was flooded with relief, as it appeared that Kaden had not been upset with her after all, leaving the rest of her mind to freeze up as it desperately searched for how she should react,

' _Wave back, stupid!'_ she shouted internally at herself.

With all the stiffness of a Primary Education, science-fair robot, Sorana raised her hand in the air and shook it back and forth. It took less than a second for her face to burn in embarrassment as she imagined what the awkward display of muscle spasms must have looked like from Kaden's perspective.

Thankfully, kind of, Kaden hadn't been able to see Sorana's awkward motion. His attention had instead been taken off of her by a large, red-armored Lombax that had tapped him on the shoulder.

Sorana recognized the armor as belonging to Kor Vol'terran, whom she'd known had been paired with Kaden on his recent mission. She marveled at how she hadn't seen such a sore-thumb figure approaching Kaden until this moment.

All at once the fears she'd felt for the past several days sprang back to the front of her mind. The fear for Kaden, not just of going on a dangerous mission, but of doing so while paired with the Lombax who had nearly killed him and, indirectly, caused much of Sorana's recent torment.

Those fears, however... were brought swift justification as, in the next moment, she witnessed her dear friend being sent flying backwards through the air before crashing to the ground with a clatter.

Sorana shut her eyes hard and opened them as she processed what had happened. Kor's strike had happened so quickly that the white furred Lombax had blinked at the wrong time and missed it, but it was apparent to everyone around what had happened. Judging by the outstretched, armored fist that still hung in the air where Kaden's head had been a moment ago, it wasn't hard to figure out.

Sorana was dumbstruck by what she'd just witnessed, but her instincts took over this time and she slowly began moving toward Kaden on reflex alone.

However, before she could get going she was shoved sideways by a tan furred girl who had been standing behind her, seen what had happened, and was eager to get a better look.

She wasn't the only one either. Within seconds, a throng of onlookers began surrounding the two Lombaxes who were apparently fighting.

Recovering from being shoved, Sorana moved swiftly toward the growing crowd and, in a very un-Sorana-ish manner, she pushed her way roughly through the wall of bodies and managed to make it to the center. She arrived just in time to watch Kor crush what appeared to be a digi-pad into powder with his hand.

Sorana's eyes grew wide as she realized that the device had obviously been Kaden's and she turned her concern filled gaze to her friend where he lay on the floor, looking up in a daze at his assailant.

Something strange, yet oddly familiar seemed to squeeze Sorana's heart as she watched her childhood friend visibly shake with anger.

"I'm... Going... To kill you!" he hissed in a voice that Sorana couldn't recognize at first.

Everything that happened in the next few seconds passed in a haze to Sorana, the brief shadows of Kaden and Kor's last encounter in the Depot danced in the back of her mind. She stood motionless as Kor replied with a few metallic words and then left without another.

Several seconds after Kor had left, Sorana finally returned to her senses, before quickly looking around to find her bearing and relocate Kaden.

However, as if to put a bright red cherry on the top of the white Lombax's mint-shocklet chip sundae, she looked over only to find that Kaden was already being helped up by the tan furred Lombax who had shoved her earlier.

The tall female smiled down at Kaden, offering him her hand. Kaden scowled slightly, but took it anyway and pulled himself up.

The crowd was beginning to disperse now and did so in every which way, blocking Sorana's view for a moment.

It took some tight maneuvering through the throng of chatting Lombaxes and robots, but, after a few moments, she finally found Kaden again. To her great surprise, however, he and the girl who had helped him up were walking off in the opposite direction.

It was at that moment that it dawned on Sorana that Kaden hadn't spotted her earlier at all and that, just before getting sucker punched by Kor, Kaden had been waving to this girl who had been nearby instead.

Somewhere in the back of Sorana's mind, she knew she should have been relieved to see Kaden appear relatively uninjured after such a brutal attack, but the vast majority of her mind could only think, _'Who is this girl?!'_

It was miraculous enough to see Kaden getting along with another living person in of itself. However, from the way this unknown woman was attempting to prod the bruised side of Kaden's face, before having her hand swatted away, and how she was talking as if on the verge of open laughter at Kaden's predicament, it was clear that they were more than just acquaintances.

For some reason, this bothered Sorana. Probably because it was so unusual to see Kaden act friendly with anyone else, ever... she told herself.

The next thing Sorana knew, she was following the two of them. She kept herself out of sight, but never let them leave hers.

They only walked for a few minutes before Sorana, while hiding behind an information kiosk, heard Kaden say, "Before that, I got to get something to eat. Living on military rations for nearly a week probably did more damage than the Wigwump."

' _Wigwump?'_ Sorana wondered as she poked her head out again and watched her targets veer off into a food court area. Stealthily, she followed their footsteps.

The location they'd entered was a small break spot, only containing a few dozen tables, half of which were occupied, and consisted entirely of automated ordering and serving machines.

Sorana made her way to the edge of the area and held back just before entering until she saw that the two of them had finished giving their orders, received their food, and had taken a seat.

She walked casually around the edge of the area and stopped at a random stand that wasn't directly in Kaden's line of sight. Not wanting to look too suspicious, she ordered a drink.

With her beverage in hand, she tried to move closer to Kaden and the woman as unnoticeably as possible.

Sorana eventually chose a seat that had a good view of the two Lombaxes, but was squarely behind Kaden's head. However, she wasn't close enough to easily make out what the two of them were saying.

Kaden and the girl then spent the next several minutes talking animatedly, sometimes smiling and laughing while swinging half-eaten pieces of sandwich in their hands for emphasis. Other times, however, the two of them seemed to stumble onto a topic that was serious and their expressions would suddenly become intense, as they debated something deeply, but never getting to the point of arguing.

The more Sorana watched the two interact, the more uneasy she began to feel, though she did not know why. For a completely unrelated reason, she tried hard to remember the last time she'd seen Kaden focus so intensely on a conversation with her, or anyone else for that matter. Without realizing it, she began scowling at the two of them.

* * *

Finally, after nearly half-an-hour of observing from a distance, Sorana could take no more. Her mind was now filled to the breaking point with desperate curiosity at what the two of them could possibly be talking about.

Pushing her greater caution aside, Sorana stood up from her seat and began searching for a new seat within clear earshot of her targets.

After several risky glances and a controlled walk-by, she realized that the only seat that met her needs and was available was just on the edge of Kaden's peripheral. She had no choice, she would have to risk discovery to reach it, but she got lucky.

As she approached the seat casually, she noticed from the corner of her eye that her childhood friend appeared to be deep in thought about something and was completely unaware of his surroundings at the moment. He noticed nothing as she sat down with her back facing him.

In sharp contrast to their previously energetic conversation, Sorana found it ironic that once she was close enough to hear what they were saying, they were completely silent.

This was mildly frustrating, but worse, now that she wasn't straining to hear and piece together what she could like earlier; her mind began to wander in the silence.

It focused on the main question at hand, _'Who was this woman and what was her relationship with Kaden?'_

True, this question had never left her mind, but, now that she couldn't gather more evidence to the mystery, Sorana's mind began drawing conclusions.

As Sorana had already established, they were clearly close enough to be considered friends, though Kaden kept so few of those.

A small flutter of self-satisfaction tickled the back of Sorana's thoughts as she noted herself to be among that short list. But, then she was reminded that she 'hadn't' yet actually resolved whether Kaden was upset with her or not and she pushed the thoughts aside completely.

Returning to the main question once more, Sorana actually began to doubt the possibility of their friendship. If this girl was some new friend Kaden must have known her long before the Depot match. It seemed unlikely that they could have become this close this fast.

' _It took me nearly a year just to start talking with him casually,'_ Sorana thought bitterly.

Again, the white furred Lombax was quick to shake these odd thoughts out of her mind. What she needed to do now was focus on why Kaden hadn't told her about this new friend. Anytime Kaden met someone or became interested in something new, he would almost always tell Sorana the next time they spoke.

Both these things rarely lasted, but she couldn't believe Kaden would neglect to tell her about someone he seemed to be so friendly with. They had spoken fairly frequently before his hospitalization, so timing was not an issue.

Sorana began to wonder if, perhaps, this person was someone that Kaden didn't want her knowing about.

' _But then why would Kaden ever want to keep his relationship with this woman a secret?'_ she continued to wonder. _'You'd almost think they were dating, or something.'_

There was a slight pause in Sorana's consciousness, as she reflected on this last thought.

Seconds later, her mind erupted in a series of countering arguments,

' _Kaden had never cared about romance before,'_ she pointed out to herself mentally. _'He could barely make friends, let alone a 'girlfriend'.'_ She insisted reassuringly.

' _Plus, there was no girl in the galaxy that would date 'him','_ Sorana then thought snidely. _'He might be a genius, but his personality flaws could fill a psychological journal. No girl in her right mind would put up with someone like that.'_

' _They clearly must have met here at Nova,'_ she noted next, too focused on proving her point to realize the irony of her previous thought. _'They couldn't possibly have gotten that close in such a short amount of time.'_

' _Especially after I've known him for years,'_ chimed a corner of Sorana's mind that she brushed aside reflexively.

However, despite the mountain of evidence to the contrary that Sorana presented to herself, somehow she couldn't shake away the tugging feeling of doubt. It was like a fishing hook that refused to be pulled loose.

With such lingering doubt inevitably came questions of contingency: What would she do if it were true? Would she try to break them up? Would she even have the right to do so? Why had she immediately thought of breaking them up?

Sorana had no answers for these questions and she raised her drink to her lips as a way to distract herself from the thoughts.

"Nope," Kaden suddenly stated in a firm and serious tone, "I am 'not' getting a uterus."

The moment the words were recognized by Sorana's mind, every muscle in her body jolted. Even with a mouth full of liquid she tried to inhale, allowing fluid to enter her trachea.

Half a second later, her choking reflex kicked in and she spat the remaining liquid out of her mouth and across the table like a hydrant, before violently coughing and fighting for breath.

All of this was made worse by the fact that almost none of Sorana's conscious mind was even aware of her predicament. It was instead occupied with other, much more pressing questions.

Hearing the commotion, Kaden turned to see what was going on, "I think someone's dying over there," he said curiously to his companion.

"Don't change the subject!" she shot back, her tone was clearly unhappy. "Are you saying that you plan on forcing 'me' to have all three of our children myself?"

If the first statement had rocked Sorana's boat, this one had immediately blown a hole in its side and sunk it.

Almost as if something invisible had hit her, Sorana fell out of her chair onto her knees as she gasped desperately for air.

Despite his companion's upset tone, Kaden's focus returned to the spasming Lombax nearby. He was struck by how familiar they seemed to be even as his mind knew such a coincidence would be impossible.

The moment she'd fallen out of her chair, however, Kaden had bolted up out of his own seat and quickly rushed over to help.

"Hey, are you alrigh-," he began, but before Kaden could finish his sentence, he got a good look at the Lombax's face. "Sorana?" he gasped. "What are you doin-"

Yet again Kaden was cut off, but this time it was by Sorana herself, whose hand shot up the moment he was in range and grabbed him by the collar. She then used that grip to pull herself up to Kaden's face.

"Whhha... hyou..." she rasped incomprehensibly. Kaden helped her to her feet and after a few more seconds to catch her breath and calm down she was able to speak, "What… are you doing?" she demanded.

"We could ask you the same thing... rich girl," said the tan furred Lombax who had been sitting with Kaden.

A sudden, powerful sense of déjà vu hit Sorana as she stared at the girl who had spoken, "Who?" she began in confusion.

"Sorana, you remember Varin," Kaden said awkwardly with a gesture to the tan furred Lombax.

Sorana blinked a few more times at the woman in question. Now that she had a good, close look, she could tell that it really was Varin. The face, but Sorana had been sure that her fur color was brown last time.

It wasn't just the fur either. Sorana made a habit of remembering things about people, changes in appearance often made good talking points at social gathering, but Varin seemed too off. Like the very shape of her body seemed different.

"I know," began Varin with an understanding tone, "Sometimes I can't help but stare at me either. My beauty is both a gift and a curse."

"Ha," Kaden laughed, "A gift from a DNA sequencer maybe. What is your real fur color anyway?"

Varin shrugged, "I don't dwell on the past," she brushed off dismissively.

Kaden just shook his head, but then he suddenly seemed to realize the situation he was in, his face mere inches away from Sorana's.

With an awkward side-step, Kaden swiftly created a gap between himself and his childhood friend, "Why- why don't you have a seat, Sorana?" he asked somewhat nervously.

Just as Sorana had worried that Kaden might harbor a grudge against her, he too worried about what she thought of him. The memory of what Alister had told him in the hospital, when he'd delivered Sorana's chocolates, began to replay itself against his wishes.

Still trying to wrap her head around the situation, Sorana moved robotically over to the table and took a seat.

She looked up at Varin, who was glaring darkly at her, then she turned to Kaden, "What are you two doing?" she asked, whispers of recent thoughts still floating around her mind.

"Eating lunch," answered Varin curtly.

Sorana shook her head, "No, I mean, what were you two talking about... just now? Before we, um... before we 'noticed' each other," she continued as she got a better grip on her situation.

Kaden and Varin looked at Sorana curiously and then to each other.

"Oh that," smiled Kaden, as he realized what she was referring to. "Listen to this, Sorana. Varin here wants me to undergo gene-splicing so that I can have a womb surgically implanted."

Sorana was just about to comment on how that gave her far more questions than answers when Varin suddenly replied heatedly,

"It's only fair. Three kids are the perfect number for a steady population growth while maintaining a stable household. But this guy here thinks that just because I was 'born' the woman, I have to grow and birth the little gremlins all by myself. Can you believe that? The least he could do is split them with me."

The last two comments were surprisingly aimed at Sorana, as if Varin expected the confused Lombax to take her side. Sorana, however, was again lost as the conversation was quickly proving too much to handle again.

Kaden returned Varin's glare, "It wouldn't be an even split," he countered. "The treatment to give a man a female reproductive system takes over a year to complete and that entire time is filled with crazy hormonal imbalances, terrible muscle spasms, and severe pain as nanites alter the bone structure to make extra room for the new organs."

"Oh no! Hormonal imbalances? You poor thing," Varin mocked coldly. "I said that I would take on two of them. That way you'd just have the splicing and one birth cycle. That would be about even with my two."

"All that medical treatment would just be a colossal waste of time and a ton of bolts," Kaden argued back. "You're telling me that it's fine to increase the total amount of effort and pain required by over a third, just so that you can make me take some of it on? Besides, I think you're also forgetting about the removal treatment? I'm not spending the rest of my life with a uterus!"

"And what's wrong with that?!" demanded Varin, with a slightly raised tone. "Some of us happen to live with them our whole lives and we get by just fine."

The two Lombaxes then began staring one another down. This gave Sorana the time she needed to get her head straight.

"Hold on!" she almost yelled across the café area, "You two aren't actually planning on having k-kids, are you?" she stammered, still not fully willing to accept what she was hearing. Then she realized what she was saying, "I mean, with the age difference... there are laws-"

"Ew, no," gagged Varin in disgust. "Why would we ever do that?" she questioned in genuine bafflement.

Sorana's mouth hung open slightly, "You... you were just talking about it," Sorana replied almost angrily.

"No, no," waved Kaden dismissively, "that was just a hypothetical question."

"Yeah, that's right," Varin continued. "Besides, everyone knows test tube babies are the only smart way of having children. Perfectly controlled environments with 24/7 growth monitoring. And that's saying nothing about the huge number of unnecessary discomforts you save."

Sorana was still confused, though admittedly relieved, "What in the world made you two discuss something like that?" she questioned further, if for no reason other than to ensure there was nothing more to the argument.

At that question, Varin and Kaden looked back at one another, puzzlement written on each of their faces.

"How did we get on this topic?" Kaden asked curiously.

"I don't know," replied Varin with a shrug.

The two of them then sat there in silence as they tried to back track their thoughts and find out when their conversation had gone so off track.

Sorana was caught off guard by the sudden cessation of sound, but waited for one of them to make the next move.

Suddenly, Varin snapped her fingers, "I got it," she declared excitedly. "You asked me if I wanted cheese on my sandwich."

Kaden threw his hands up in the air, "Ah! That's right."

The two of them then shared a grin and a nod, but were otherwise silent and appeared satisfied with the conclusion.

Sorana continued to wait patiently in her seat for them to elaborate... but they did not.

Now that her first fear was soothed, at least, Sorana's mind restarted normal functioning, "You could make it so a guy can have a baby?" she asked after she realized what had just been said.

Varin flicked her hand casually, "Guy, girl... pig, chicken. With the right equipment I could turn anyone into anything." Then Varin's expression turned suspicious and she gave a sideways glance to Sorana, "Why? Curious to see the other side's 'perspective'?" she asked in an oddly knowing tone.

"No," Sorana answered hastily. Too hastily, in Varin's opinion and her sideways look did not ease.

Sorana then cleared her throat, "Anyway, what are you two doing here? Together I mean." Sorana winced as she realized how obvious that question had sounded. The 'uniqueness' of the conversation so far had thrown her off balance and she had accidentally spoken too freely.

"What's it to you?" Varin demanded back sharply.

"Varin," said Kaden in an equally sharp tone.

Varin folded her arms with indignation, "I told you we were in a hurry. This little lunch break was already pressing my schedule margins, but now we'll be stuck here because you need to catch up with your girlfriend," she added with a nod towards Sorana.

Kaden grit his teeth, "She's not my-" but he stopped himself and turned to Sorana, "Varin had linked me a message saying she wanted to meet up with me as soon as I landed. We were just on the way to see whatever it is she wants to show me," he explained.

"The better question is, what are 'you' doing here?" said Varin, voicing her suspicions. "Oddly coincidental, you sitting just a few seats away like that."

"I- I was... I had just gotten off a flight of my own," she offered weakly. Varin did not look satisfied with her answer.

Sorana, still feeling slightly awkward about stalking the two of them and the whole hospital thing, had been trying to avoid eye-contact with Kaden. But, she turned to him anyway as she made her case of the coincidence.

"Were you supposed to arrive today?" she lied. "I had completely forgo-" but Sorana stopped when she finally got a good look at Kaden's eye. "By the council!" she exclaimed in surprise. She couldn't believe that she'd forgotten about the armored fist to the face that Kaden had eaten earlier.

Even through his fur, Sorana could clearly see that Kaden's skin around his left eye was a sickly mix of purple and green. It wasn't swollen anywhere near what one would expect of the hit he'd taken, but the area of his face that was affected by it had to be well over a quarter. Kaden's left eye was even shut slightly due to the damage.

"Kaden, you need to go see a doctor right away," Sorana declared, her surprise and awkwardness quickly turning to concern as her protective nature kicked in. "I can't believe you're even walking around after something like that!"

Kaden was about to try and assure his friend, when Varin interrupted, "Pft, that's nothing. I'll patch it up in no time... once we get moving," she added, reiterating that they had places to be.

Again Kaden was about to say something when Sorana spoke first, "I think he needs to see a 'real' doctor, rather than to go be experimented on in your... mad science lab."

Varin inhaled suddenly and looked as if she'd been insulted. She then sat up in her chair as far as she could to look down at Sorana, "You take that back," she demanded angrily. "I am too a 'real' doctor."

This time before Sorana could reply, Kaden leaned forward and whispered in her ear, "She actually does have a PhD," he chimed in. "But she's a bit sensitive about it, since she also lost her license in the same month."

Varin crossed her arms and tilted her head back arrogantly, "Please, if I can make a man lay eggs, then I can definitely patch up a little bruise," she said confidently. Then she took another look at Kaden's face, "Err... I mean, big, ugly, and hideously disfiguring facial wound... it's still not a problem though."

Kaden glared at her for a moment, "You mean 'make a man give birth', right?"

Varin returned the look, "You heard me."

Kaden sighed, "Well, it doesn't really matter either way, because I don't need any medical help. I feel fine."

"Kaden, you know you have a tendency to underestimate these things," Sorana pressed persuasively. "You should really get your face looked at, but by professional and 'licensed' medical personnel," she added with sideways glance at Varin.

Varin smirked back at her, but didn't say anything.

"Sorana, I'm fine," Kaden assured her. "I still have some combat grade Nanotech in my blood from the mission. It's already managed to keep down most of the swelling and the coloring will go away in a day or two. I don't need a doctor," he declared flatly. "Or unlicensed medical help," he added with a look at Varin.

"But Kaden-" Sorana began again, but she was cut off by Varin.

"Enough of this," the currently tan furred Lombax said before pushing back her chair and rising to her feet, "I'll give you a reason to come with me, right now."

Varin's eyes then twinkled with mischief as she moved around the table toward Kaden, stopping well within what would be considered his 'personal space'. The tan furred woman then placed a hand on the table in front of him and leaned in toward his face, eyes locked with his, before licking her lips seductively.

The sudden change of character caught both of the other two Lombaxes completely off guard. Kaden was confused, so he simply froze as his mind began overheating as it fought to make sense of his situation.

Sorana's heart rate instantly skyrocketed. Her subconscious, knowing what was about to happen, screamed for her to stop it. Her conscious mind, however, was still fighting to comprehend the reality of the situation and searched desperately for a way to deny it.

Too late, Varin was just centimeters away from Kaden's face now. Her lips split in one last, knowing grin, before she inhaled deeply and... gently blew on Kaden's bruised eye.

The instant the air brushed against his damaged face, Kaden's whole body flinched as if he'd been stuck with something sharp. He realized in that instant just how little Nanotech was left in his blood.

The healing agent hadn't even tried to soothe his enflamed nerves. Even the mild twitch of his fur being pushed and pulled by the air was enough to send intense pain shooting across his face.

Varin stood up again and looked down at Kaden triumphantly, "See," she grinned as Kaden's facial and neck muscles twitched from each tender recoil of his fur.

Sorana let out a massive breath of relief and almost fell back into her seat, which she'd been on the edge of for the past several milliseconds. Her heart was still pounding against her chest, though, and her body heat dropped slightly as her muscles relaxed and blood flowed freely again.

Kaden, having recovered, stared back up at Varin defiantly, "Ok, it hurts 'a little'. So does stubbing your toe, but you don't go to the hospital every time that happens," he said resolutely.

Sorana was still trying to catch her breath and she swallowed hard as she mentally brushed aside the odd moment and gathered her wits to retort, "I think your head might be a little bit more important than your foot!" she shot back protectively. "You could at least have a concussion from a hit like that," she pleaded.

"No," countered Varin, seeming to switch sides. "He's right. Just because it hurts and is tender doesn't mean it's anything serious," she agreed with a thoughtful expression.

Kaden was surprised by Varin's change of allegiance, but he ran with it anyway, "See, no big deal," he smiled comfortingly toward Sorana.

Sorana was also caught off guard by Varin's switch and didn't reply immediately.

Varin nodded her head, "Yes, that little test meant nothing," she said, rubbing her chin thoughtfully. "We'll have to try something... more conclusive."

A terrible feeling of foreboding suddenly washed over Kaden and he turned back to look up at Varin, "What's that now?" he asked suspiciously.

Without another word Varin pulled back the sleeve on her right arm and held out her palm. In a rapid series of movements, Varin then hawked up some phlegm and saliva in the back of her throat, before spitting into her hand. She then cupped her fingers, before winding her arm back behind her head.

With an evil glint in her eye and a wicked grin across her lips, Varin looked down at her victim eagerly, "If this kills you... you have a brain aneurism."

Varin then breathed and tightened her muscles for the swing...

Throwing his hands up just in time, Kaden shouted, "Wait-wait! Ok, ok... you win! I'll get it looked at," he surrendered desperately.

With her hand still poised high in the air, Varin's expression looked utterly disappointed, "Are you sure?" she asked. "I mean, it could be nothing... no big deal. I mean, you do still have some combat-grade Nanotech in your blood."

"I am very sure," insisted Kaden fearfully. "After taking a punch like that, I'd be a fool not to get it looked at," he added, the irony of their role reversal not lost on him.

Shaking off the odd situation, Sorana chimed in, "Yes, and by an 'actual' doctor," she repeated, directing it at Varin rather than Kaden.

Varin glared back at the white furred Lombax, "I don't know," she countered, unconvinced. "Doctors are pretty busy people. I would be derelict in my duty if I let you take up time that could be used saving lives. Unless, of course, we were 'sure'," she insisted, her hand still ready to be unleashed at any moment.

"There's got to be another way," Kaden insisted, knowing full well that Varin only wanted to slap him across a very raw bruise for the fun of it, "one that doesn't involve getting assaulted."

Varin tapped her chin and pretended to think about it, all without disarming her arm, "Well... I suppose the problem could be solved if you'd just let me handle it like I offered in the first place."

Kaden glared back at his second assaulter of the past hour, "Fine," he conceded unhappily, "you can fix my eye. But only if that's 'all' you do."

To both Kaden's and Sorana's surprise, Varin smiled and lowered her hand, "Deal."

Kaden breathed a sigh of relief, but no sooner had he let it out, then it was sucked back up in surprise. Varin had grabbed him by his armored collar and yanked him right out of his chair and up onto his feet.

"What are you-" the surprised Lombax tried to say as Varin then proceeded to pull him backwards, unceremoniously from the table and toward the café entrance.

"Going to fix that ugly mug of yours," Varin answered condescendingly, as if she'd been asked a dumb question. "Well, the part that Kor damaged at least."

"Right now?" Kaden questioned in confusion. "I still needed to..." the Lombax prisoner trailed off as he looked back at Sorana's dumbfounded expression, too stunned to do or say anything, as she watched them leave.

"Listen here, 'One-Eyed Willie'," Varin snarled back. "I told you that I've got a schedule to keep and I intend to make sure you're there to take the blame for me being late. You can clear flags with your love interests on your own time."

"Love wha-gah!" Kaden was yanked again for emphasis. "Can you at least stop dragging me?" he begged as he was forced around the corner and out of sight.

Sorana stared with her mouth slightly open before blinking a few times in disbelief.

' _Since when has Kaden let anyone push him around like that?'_ a bitter corner of her mind asked.

Shaking the thought away, though still slightly confused, the white furred Lombax stood up and prepared to leave.

A moment later a small janitorial robot came around to clean up the trash left on the table.

* * *

Varin shoved Kaden unceremoniously into the grav-lift before following behind him. The doors shut behind her as she walked in.

"And what was that about?" Kaden demanded flatly, the moment he'd regained his balance.

"It's called walking, Kaden," replied Varin sarcastically, "it's how you get from one place to another."

"No, I mean pulling me away from Sorana!" he hissed back. "I had something I needed to... to discuss with her."

Varin groaned, "Like I said, on your own time."

Kaden shook his head unhappily, "But it was important," he reiterated before turning away and sighing. "The truth is, I haven't actually had the chance to talk to her since the CtD match. I think she may have been avoiding me."

Varin rolled her eyes, "And what makes you think that?" she asked, hopping he would not answer.

Kaden shrugged, "It's just... something Alister said. Sorana's always worried about me when I get hurt, but… I think I may have gone too far this time."

Varin took a deep breath and sighed, "Don't worry about it Kaden," she said softly. She then put her hand on Kaden's shoulder reassuringly, "You said you two have been friends since way back, right? I'm sure if you haven't driven her off by now, she's probably too crazy to leave over this."

"Hah," Kaden laughed to himself. The words weren't kind, but they were somehow comforting. "Thanks Varin... I think."

Varin gave Kaden's shoulder another reassuring squeeze, "Sure thing," she replied.

The two then rode the elevator in silence for a while. Neither one moved much or said anything.

"Varin?" Kaden said after a while.

"Yes, Kaden?" Varin asked openly.

"Is that the hand you spat on?"

Varin replied by giving Kaden's shoulder yet another reassuring squeeze... to ensure she gotten everything off, "Yes, Kaden," she answered, in a flat and guiltless tone. "Yes it is."


	3. Unresolved Issues

**AN: Well, it seems like a few people didn't read the intro, or just ignored it. I had asked that this book not be favorited for reasons that I explain in the Intro. I'm not upset about it, though. As long as I achieve the priority goal I mentioned it's fine, I just want to make sure everyone knows that there is important, new information about in this book's intro chapter, just in case you've assumed that it was just a copy of the first book's.**

* * *

When the grav-lift finally came to a stop, Kaden realized that the floor they'd come to was one he didn't have access to. One that was really deep under the Military Field.

The doors to the lift opened and Varin swiftly walked out before heading down the nearest hallway. Even though Kaden knew that they were below the Military Field, the metallic walls and lighting format seemed oddly like Science Field architecture.

Varin came to a halt in front of a pair of large, sliding, metal doors. She waved her hand over the access console and, after taking a moment to check her security clearance, the two heavy doors split apart and slowly opened. Kaden took a moment to marvel at how strongly built the doors were and wondered what the need for them was.

Varin entered the room as soon as the doors had opened wide enough and Kaden followed. The room was definitely a science lab of some kind. There were large holo-monitors against walls and on top of work desks, several tall cabinets dotted the walls and were clearly filled with dozens of chemical and material agents, but most unique and eye catching, however, was the row of reinforced, metal doors that lined the back wall.

Each of the entrances looked similar to a vault door and was labelled with a designation number, an animal species, and, scrawled across in random directions, strange nicknames like "Bonecrusher" and "Split Tooth". Kaden also noted that most appeared to be in Varin's handwriting.

"What is this place?" Kaden asked as he continued to look around curiously.

"Combat Animal Husbandry," Varin answered casually. "Training against armed androids and live-fire auto-turrets is more than enough for the average grunt, but once they reach level five in the Military Field, their training needs increase and experience against something a little more 'savage' is added to the curriculum."

"So these animals are all here to fight against Military Field students?" he asked as he read the word "Terocklick?" on the species plaques across several of the doors.

Varin shrugged, "Some are for fighting against and some are for fighting with. Fortis' pet Drogith is further down the hall," she added with a gesture of her hand, followed by a shake of her head. "That thing is the meanest creature I've ever dealt with. Worst of all, it's smart enough to break out of most containers, so it keeps us caretakers on our toes."

"That sounds horrifying," replied Kaden as he followed Varin deeper into the laboratory.

They crossed into another section of the lab; this room appeared to be for storage and consisted of dozens of rows of shelves that stood like a library. A quick glance showed Kaden that the shelves were filled mostly with various animal feeds and equipment.

"It's not that bad, really," Varin answered thoughtfully. "It usually just gets out because it wants to 'play' with its neighbors. You 'know' something is a true monster when it regularly tries to kill and eat other monsters. I'll never understand how Fortis turns it into a puppy the second it sees him, though, I'm more of a bio-chemist than biologist."

Kaden was curious about this place and the creatures that were kept here, but most of all he was curious about what Varin had brought him here for.

"So, what's in here that you wanted to show me?" he asked.

"Nothing here," Varin answered, "we're just picking up someone else." Then Varin suddenly stopped walking, causing Kaden to nearly run into her. "Actually," she began again, with her trademark mischievous grin, "there is something interesting here I could show you."

They had come to an open area with several work benches that appeared to be used for packaging, opening, and sorting the various objects in the storehouse. Varin looked around for a second before spotting a couple of large chairs at a nearby work station. She quickly walked over to them and motioned for Kaden to follow her, before the two of them took a seat.

Without explaining anything, Varin sucked in a huge breath before cupping her hands around her mouth and bellowing, "Lorrrrrr-Naaaaaaaaaa," at the top of her lungs.

Kaden winced as the shout echoed in his right ear, but was worryingly muted in his left, making him realize that his Nanotech must have healed wrong and created one or more vein bypasses that were restricting blood flow to his eardrum.

Almost immediately Kaden could hear the reaction. Though hard to tell due to the echoing effect, the distant sound of something breaking rang across the room. Kaden tried listening more carefully and, a few seconds later, he heard another crash, only this time it was much closer.

Kaden strained his good ear intently until he could make out the sound of heavy, awkward steps echoing from the isles of stored goods. This was then followed by a third crash.

Kaden turned to look at Varin in confusion, wondering what, in a laboratory full of monstrous, combat beasts, was currently smashing its way towards them.

Varin did not see the look though; she was simply staring eagerly at the edge of supply racks.

Another crash echoed through the room, very close this time. Kaden spun back around and matched Varin's gaze at the spot that the sound had come from.

Then, at last, a tan furred Lombax, almost identical in appearance to Varin, burst into their view. She was wearing a simple lab coat that was covered in various colored liquids and slime, and her expression was panicked.

"Varin!" she shouted fearfully the moment she'd spotted them, "What's wron-"

But before the word could be finished, the energized Lombax's foot landed at an odd angle on the floor as she tried to turn her momentum toward them. Expecting her first foot to have moved by now, her other leg had already taken a step forward and caught itself on the first one and caused her to trip on her own feet. The tan furred Lombax collapsed to the ground, landing face-first. Kaden winced at both the sight and the sound of the impact.

Varin then clapped happily, "She never disappoints," the wickedly grinning Lombax said.

Weakly, the beleaguered Lombax tried to rise, pushing herself up off the floor with her arms before lifting her head to look at Varin, "What... What is... What's the problem?" she asked between gasps of breath.

Varin motioned with her head toward Kaden as if nothing unusual had just happened, "I want you to meet someone," she answered casually.

"Are you..." the poor Lombax on the floor wheezed, "Are you kidding me?"

"Nope," Varin replied without a shred of guilt in her tone or expression.

After hearing this, the girl, covered in various and worrisome looking chemicals, seemed to deflate and flopped back down on the floor in exhaustion, "I thought... I thought one of the creatures had gotten out again," she growled angrily at Varin. "I thought someone was in trouble!"

Varin's expression became serious and she shook her head disapprovingly, "Yes, and what a great lot of help you would have been. Anyone in trouble would be halfway digested by the time you got here."

Kaden was expecting an angry retort, but to his surprise, the female Lombax simply sighed heavily, as if she was used to such treatment, and carefully got to her feet.

Once she was fully vertical and brushing off what she could from her lab coat, Varin started the introduction, "This is Kaden," she began simply. "He's one of my practical lab students and temporary member of the Tough Nuts."

Varin then turned to Kaden, "Kaden this is my lab assistant, Lorn-"

"Lorna Cross," finished the female Lombax curtly, intentionally interrupting Varin, "and I'm only Varin's 'part-time' assistant. My main focus is on biological development and interaction. Pleased to meet you," she added with a polite smile toward Kaden. She then reached out a freshly scraped-clean hand for him to shake.

Kaden got up to take her hand, "I'm Kaden-" but before Kaden could finish his full name, Lorna took a step toward him. Her foot landed on the puddle of liquid that had formed from dripping off her coat and, finding no friction to support her, the foot slid forward.

Possibly due to recent trauma, Kaden instinctively jumped out of the way as the new Lombax flew towards him. He moved just in time for the unfortunate Lombax to slide cleanly past him and slam her face onto the workbench that he'd been sitting at. Again, Kaden winced at the sight.

"As I was saying," Varin continued with a much larger grin on her face now, "This is my lab assistant, Lorna Cross. She's a pretty good scientist when it comes to animals and complex organisms, she bred nearly all of the beasts in this pen for optimal combat potential herself, but the only upper level lab manager in the Science Field who's willing to take her on is me. I'm sure you've noticed the reason why."

Lorna groaned in pain on the ground, but Kaden got the distinct impression from the timing of the groan that the undertone of pain was related to what Varin had just said, rather than her physical injury.

Lorna eventually got back to her feet, her hand clasped tightly over her now bloody nose, and without saying another word she turned and made her way to the nearest emergency chemical shower.

Once underneath, she took off her lab coat, revealing a full body suit underneath, and dumped it in a heap on the floor before activating the shower. The falling liquid quickly got to work washing away the plethora of liquids and goo from her body, while she stood glumly in place, letting the water run over her drooping ears and sad expression.

After watching this pitiful display for about a minute, Kaden turned back to Varin, "Are you two related?" he asked at last.

Once the initial shock of Lorna's arrival had worn off, Kaden's thoughts had immediately turned to how similar Lorna and Varin looked. After he'd analyzed the two of them a bit more, however, he had decided that the physical resemblance was too close to be a coincidence.

"Not at all," replied Varin simply. "Why do you ask?"

Kaden eyed Varin, "Because you look like twins," he answered, giving Varin a look as if the reason should have been obvious.

"Oh, that. Well that's because I used her genetic code as a template for my recent makeover," Varin explained before taking a step back and spreading out her arms to display her body. "Sequencing DNA override structures from scratch is a ton of work and making them fit together is even more. I find that it's actually pretty simple to just locate an already existing, compatible DNA sequence and modify it just enough that your body doesn't reject it."

Kaden looked Varin over and nodded his approval, "Not bad," he complimented honestly.

Kaden had seen plenty of attempts at gene splicing throughout Principal School. Rarely had he seen one that turned out well though. However, Varin's transformation showed none of the malformed bone structure or skin tumors that were typical of botched splicing attempts.

Varin bowed modestly, "Why thank you," she smiled. Then her eyes shifted slightly and she leaned closer to Kaden so she could speak in a quieter voice, "Actually, on that note, there's something I was hoping you could help-"

"Alright, I'm done," interrupted Lorna, who was now sporting an entirely new outfit and no signs of the chemicals that had previously drenched her.

Kaden looked at her in surprise, "That was fast," he noted.

Lorna shrugged, "I've had a lot of practice."

"Yeah," agreed Varin with a shake of her head. "It's a good thing I didn't give myself your sense of balance when I spliced our genes."

Lorna's eyes narrowed at Varin, "It would have served you right for taking someone's genetic matrix without their permission," she said angrily. "Do you have any idea how weird it is to be tormented by yourself?"

Varin rolled her eyes, "Oh come on. It's not 'that' weird."

Varin then turned to Kaden for support, but Kaden shrugged and held up his hand, bringing his thumb and index finger close together, just short of touching.

She gave him short glare, before turning her back to both of them, "Well, too late now," she said unapologetically. "Besides, we're running late as it is, so get moving." She then proceeded to march off toward the door.

Kaden leaned over to Lorna, "Do you know where we're going?" he asked curiously.

Lorna sighed, "Not really. I've actually got a ton of work to do here, but I've learned that when Varin is up to something it's better to find out when she wants to brag about it rather than when she wants to test it."

And with a sad expression, Lorna sighed and followed behind Varin.

Kaden shrugged dismissively and joined them.

* * *

After another ride on the grav-lifts, the trio arrived at a familiar location this time. Kaden had been brought to the level where the Tough Nuts' club room was located.

Sure enough, as Kaden and Lorna followed Varin, she led the two of them straight to the familiar door and opened it with a wave of her hand.

As Kaden entered the room, he was greeted by a scene that mirrored the first time he'd entered it, which felt like ages ago now.

At the top of the far side sat Torque, eating what appeared to be soup this time. Down below that, reading a digi-pad in his bed, was Wraith. Finally, there was Lacera studying the various technical images on the monitor in the briefing area.

Despite the similarity of the situation, however, there was one major difference. Sitting in the corner, playing with a brilliantly gleaming knife, sat a fourth Lombax. She resembled Lacera in terms of fur color and build, though she was a few inches shorter. The big difference between the two, though, was the way this unknown Lombax looked up at the group as they entered.

Her eyes seemed to twinkle the same way her knife did. This did not give off a comforting feeling and Kaden became all the more wary of her as she put the knife back into its sheath on her forearm.

There was something very off-putting about how the girl slid the sharpened piece of metal into its holder with such familiarity that she didn't even look at it, instead keeping her gaze on him and the other new arrivals.

But, worst of all, Kaden noted, was that when she got up and began walking toward them, he couldn't find even a hint that the blade was on her, despite knowing exactly where it must be. Its sheath was completely concealed inside her forearm's armor plate.

As Varin's group converged on the central area, Lacera looked up at them, "Ah, the stragglers arrive at last," she said with an even tone.

"Had a little hold up," Varin replied with a gesture to Kaden.

Kaden looked unapologetic.

Lacera shrugged, "Well, now that everyone's here, we can get started."

Varin looked around the room curiously, "No Alister?" she asked.

Wraith shouted from the back, "Wants nothing to do with it," he yelled, "Probably the only sane one out of us all, too."

Lacera's eyes narrowed, but she didn't say anything more until the unknown Lombax that resembled her had reached the briefing area, "You're the only two who haven't met yet," Lacera said at last, with a nod of her head toward Kaden. "Kaden, this is my dear, little sister, Viscera. Viscera, this is Kaden, our temporary mechanical technician."

'Viscera', now standing next to Lacera, took a step toward Kaden and offered him her hand, "Nice to meet you," she grinned with a soft, but sharp tone, almost like a hiss.

Kaden studied Viscera. The grin she wore was mostly friendly, but her eyes hinted at just enough wickedness for Kaden to be concerned. Of most concern, however, was the female Lombax's posture.

While Kaden could no longer see the knife or the compartment it was hidden in, he could tell from the way Viscera stood that she was poised to draw it out any moment.

From what Kaden could guess, the Lombax in front of him was capable of pulling out her knife and using it almost as quickly as if she'd been holding it in her hand the entire time. To make matters even worse, the longer he studied her, the more he realized that her posture allowed for easy access to various other points on her body, hinting loudly to his brain that there were more knives hidden there as well.

Despite the outstretched hand offered to him, it was because of this knowledge that Kaden did not get any closer, instead he hesitated just on the edge of what he guessed was Viscera's strike range.

Viscera watched as Kaden sized her up, but he had taken so much care in looking her over for danger, that he hadn't realized he'd been staring for too long.

Viscera's grin twitched slightly and Kaden's mind registered the slight shift in weight of her back foot, but that was all he noticed. In the next instant, Kaden found his face mere inches away from Viscera's, their muzzles almost touching as her eyes looking deeply into his.

The movement had been so subtle, that Kaden's mind hadn't even recognized it until she was close enough to kiss. The second it did, however, he shot backwards on reflex and brought up his right hand to about chest level. He was still wearing his combat gauntlets and he'd even sent a NID command to activate his repulsor shield.

Nothing happened as his weapons' circuitry had been fried thanks to the Wigwump's stomach acid, but, luckily, there was no need for them now.

In the half second it took Kaden to recover from the sudden shock, he looked back to realize that Viscera had relaxed and was now sizing him up. She now wore a mischievous smile.

"Reflexes are slow," she noted with a tone of disappointment, "But... I like his eyes," she added with a note of approval.

Behind her, Kaden glanced Lacera, her eyes still on the holo-monitor, grin with satisfaction and nod in agreement, "We'll need them for what's coming," she said before turning so that her voice would carry to the back of the room, "Alright you slackers, it's show time."

Wraith sighed in his bunk before turning off his digi-pad. While appearing very reluctant to do so, the black furred Lombax rolled off his bed, causing it to retreat into the wall, and placed his handheld device on the desk that appeared in its place, before shambling his way toward the main briefing area.

Torque looked up from his bowl and then looked back into it sadly. He did not even bother to finish it off or store it in the nearby fridge. Instead, he simply got up from where he sat and slowly made his way down to the briefing area along with Wraith.

Lacera watched with dissatisfaction as her team unenthusiastically assembled, "Well, as miserable as you all look, let's get started." Lacera pressed an icon on her control board and a virtual figurine of Kor sprang up from the hologram generator, overlaid with technical data, "Revenge on Kor Vol'terran... part 2."

The moment Kaden had seen the Tough Nuts' door, he'd guessed where this whole thing was going, but he still sighed regardless. It was starting to feel like this was never going to end.

Kaden then raised his hand, "I've got a question," he said in a tone on the verge of being sarcastic.

Unable to be sure of the mockery in his voice, Lacera eventually acknowledged him, "Yes, what is it?"

"Yeah, um hi, I'm just wondering... Exactly 'why' do you want revenge against Kor... part 2?" Kaden asked with no hint of mockery in his voice this time. "I mean, the Tough Nuts won the CtD match, right? You're welcome, by the way. So what's there to be upset about?"

The group of Lombaxes all turned to him, finding it odd that Kaden, of all people, would ask such a thing, "Because that wasn't a win," answered Lacera harshly. "That match was won on a technicality, but Kor still put four of my Tough Nuts in long-term medical care!"

Wraith loudly cleared his throat and tried to cover up the following words with a cough, "Ehem, no he didn't... ehem."

Lacera shifted her eyes, but did not turn fully to face the interruption, "Quiet down over there, or I'll put another hole in you."

Wraith obediently went silent and Lacera turned back to Kaden, "Regardless, even if we had beaten him cleanly, we can never truly claim victory until we retrieve what was taken from us."

At this, Lacera keyed a few more icons on her controller and two more holographic objects came to life, one being of a small, customized pistol, and the other a slender, familiar looking knife.

"Kor has a habit of keeping trophies from the opponents he's defeated," Lacera continued, staring intensely at the two holographic objects. "It's not against the rules to take your opponent's equipment; this is simulated warfare after all. That knife was a gift that I had specifically made for my sister upon her admittance to Nova and I paid almost as much in modifications on that pistol than the weapons itself was worth, but it's not the bolt value of these objects I care about, it's what they represent."

Viscera leaned forward, an equally intense look in her eyes as her sister's, "As long as Kor holds them, they are proof that he is superior," she summed up with one dramatic sentence.

Kaden eyed the holograms curiously, "Huh, that's just like Kor's whole 'tail' thing," he noted with genuine intrigue at the similarity.

"His what?" questioned Lacera.

"Oh, nothing," replied Kaden, dismissing the comment with a wave. "It's unfortunate, though," Kaden continued, changing the subject, "He lost that council banished knife in a Wigwump tunnel on Sargasso and was adamant that he retrieve it. If it hadn't been for Boogoh's eagerness to help then I would have said 'forget it', and made him leave it behind. Then you could have scratched it off the list."

"No!" barked Viscera angrily, making Kaden flinch in surprise. "It means nothing unless I can take it back myself."

Lacera nodded her agreement, "Well said, sister. We either need to steal our weapons back or take something equally important slash symbolic of his."

"Like his heart!" offered Viscera with a wicked smile across her face and an evil glint in her eye.

The group of Lombaxes all looked at her with neutral expressions for several seconds, unable to tell if she was serious or not.

Lacera turned back to Kaden, "We'll settle for his wrench though. I don't know of many places that sell standard malleus wrenches, so I'll bet that thing is a custom job. I want it on my wall. It will go great next to my trophy helmets."

"So is taking other people's stuff just a Military Field thing, or..."

Lacera returned her attention back to Kaden, suspicion written all over her face, "That's our side of the story, but now why would 'you' question 'our' motivations?" she asked distrustfully. "Last time you eagerly came to us seeking nothing more than a second chance at the Red Reaper-"

"Crimson," corrected Kaden reflexively. "Um, never mind that, ignore what I just said," he insisted hastily, after realizing what he'd said.

Lacera eyed the tan furred Lombax for a few more silent moments before continuing, "As I was saying, what do you care 'why' we are doing this? Is it not enough for you that we are?"

Kaden thought about the question for a moment, "Just curiosity really," he answered honestly, but then seemed to debate something else in his mind. "Actually, I should probably make this clear now… I want absolutely no part of 'this', or anything else involving that red-armored psychopath." Kaden then pretended to pat dirt off his hands for emphasis, "This is me washing my hands of Kor Vol'terran."

All eyes turned at once to Kaden, surprise in nearly all of them and open mouths accompanying a few.

"No part?" echoed Lacera in disbelief, "Why in the name of the Council not?" she demanded fiercely.

Kaden shrugged, "Oh, I don't know... maybe it's because I don't like metal objects protruding from my chest?" he replied in words laden with sarcasm.

Lacera glared angrily, but to Kaden's surprise she was doing so at Varin "I thought you said he was in? You were supposed to make sure!" she said accusingly.

Lorna poked her head out from behind Varin, "Um, she didn't ask me whether I wanted to come either."

Completely ignoring Lorna, Varin threw up her hands, equally surprised by Kaden's announcement, "I thought he was. I figured after getting his bell rung in the starport he'd be more than eager to continue the endless cycle." Varin then turned to Kaden, "You're telling me that after getting your face high-fived with a fist you're just going to let it go? After you were 'so' desperate for revenge last time?" her tone was clearly dumbfounded.

Kaden returned her stare and folded his arms in a dignified manner, "That was before I understood him," he countered. "After spending a week together on Sargasso, I know enough about him to realize that the only reason he punched me and broke my digi-pad was to provoke me into fighting him again."

There was a short pause of confused silence before Torque broke it, "Perhaps the usage of your head as a drum has deafened your ear for music," he questioned with a concerned tone.

"That punch must have knocked you silly," translated Varin. "How can you be so sure of that?" she then pressed.

Kaden shrugged, "I'm not, really. But I know that Kor would never stoop to sucker punching someone unless he was specifically trying to get under their fur. It's some kind of 'warrior's honor' thing he does. He's obsessed with finding tough opponents to fight. It's weird, but trying to get revenge now would be like giving him exactly what he wants... and I won't fall for it."

The group sat in stunned silence until Lacera spoke, "That's rather big of you Kaden," she admitted in amazement, "How disappointing."

Kaden continued to hold his head high and took her words as a compliment, but then his expression turned thoughtful again, "Wait a second," he began suspiciously, before turning to Varin, "at what time did you tell them 'for sure' I was willing to join in on this?"

Varin shrugged, "I sent them a message right after Kor knuckle-kissed your face," answered Varin matter-of-factly.

"Ha," laughed Wraith from his seat "she sent more than that."

At this, Lacera reached over and tapped an icon on her holo-controller. An instant later, the various images on the screen vanished before being replaced by an image of Kaden with Kor standing behind him.

Lacera then pressed play and Kaden watched as his past-self turned to face Kor before being sucker-punched into the ground a second later.

"You recorded it?" Kaden demanded angrily.

Varin smiled with pride, "Yep, I saw Kor coming up behind you and I thought, 'this needs to be recorded', and turned on my NID's recorder just in time."

"And she was right," noted Lacera through a wide grin. "It even got Torque out of his slump for a second."

Kaden looked at Torque in confusion. The large Lombax still looked gloomy, but he now wore a slight smile, "Not my best work, of course."

Kaden was still confused, but then Lacera played the video again, only this time it had been edited. Using only two small clips, the moment where Kaden got punched and the one where he slammed into the ground, the rehashed video played out a familiar melody using the sounds.

*Punch, Punch... Slam*

*Punch, Punch... Slam*

*Punch, Punch... Slam*

"Ya got 'rocked'," noted Viscera, causing a hushed mix of laughter to make its way through the group.

Kaden glared darkly at the video as the loop continued to repeat. Watching it made his wounded face throb, "Are you done yet?" he asked after Lacera showed no signs of stopping it.

"That depends," replied Lacera callously, her eyes still on the holo-screen, "Are you going to help us fight Kor?"

Kaden continued to glare as he considered his options, "Alright, I'm willing to help you guys with technical support, but I am going nowhere near that nutcase in combat. You guys can handle all the punching and shooting stuff yourselves."

With a press of her finger, Lacera paused the video loop and turned stiffly toward Kaden. She looked him straight in the eye as she considered his offer.

Then, her face suddenly softened, "Oh yeah, no problem," she said with a dismissive wave of her hand, before turning back to the screen. "That was all I was planning on using you for anyway. You didn't really think I wanted you here for your karate skills did you?" she added with small laugh.

Kaden was not sure how to feel about Lacera's words, so he simply ignored them, "Now do you actually have a plan to take down Kor or are we just here to brood?"

Surprisingly, Lacera grinned at Kaden's statement, "Oh, I've got a plan," she declared happily.

Kaden sighed at the thought of being roped into more of this nonsense, but he turned his attention to the holo-screen, which, thankfully, had been changed back to the previous technical images. Likewise, the rest of the group refocused on the screen as well.

Lacera continued tapping a series of icons on her holo-controller, causing all but one of the images and diagrams to fall away. This remaining image, a small thumbnail in the corner, then enlarged rapidly until it took up the whole screen.

The image was overlaid by a large, ornate title banner that was draped over the image of a devastating, war-torn wasteland, filled with Lombax bodies wearing shattered armor,

"Blitzkrieg!" Lacera shouted excitedly.

Almost immediately after saying those words, there was an audible groan that rolled through the group from Torque, Wraith, Varin, and even Lorna.

Lacera's eyes narrowed at the lack of enthusiasm, "Something wrong?" she asked dangerously.

Wraith looked as if he was fighting to keep his mouth shut, but eventually lost, "Come on boss," Wraith moaned. "Blitzkrieg is a meat grinder! Only two players ever get rewarded per round and everyone else just gets broken bones and shattered pride, or vice versa."

"Exactly," replied Lacera, a knowing smile on her face. "Since the game is nothing but chaos from start to finish, we'll be free to attack anyone we want. I hope I don't have to say who that will be."

This time Varin voiced her concerns, "What makes you so sure Kor will even participate in the next Blitzkrieg?" she asked.

"Because," Lacera began, "with the Gold Bolts out of the tournament, Kor will need to find another way to make bolts at Nova. My sources in the markets tell me that after our last run in, he's been looking for replacement equipment and he hasn't gotten much, yet. Most of the other Military games' registrations are closed and, of the remaining few, Blitzkrieg appears to pay the best for anyone stupid enough to think it's worth it."

"You mean stupid like us?" asked Wraith sarcastically.

Before Lacera could reply, Torque spoke up, "Blitzkrieg is not a show that can be taken lightly. With our instruments damaged and our sheet music thin, will we be able to perform in both the opera and ballet?"

"Yeah, boss," agreed Varin, "the next round of Capture the Depot isn't too far off. We'd be pulling our resources, not to mention bodies, thin if we tried to run a Blitzkrieg too."

Lacera narrowed her eyes, unused to having her decision questioned. But, her eyes showed no sympathy as she replied, "Fine then... we'll put it to a vote."

At the mention of these words, the room was filled with the sounds of stiffening backs and averted eyes. Nobody was willing to show any sign that they might want to have a vote.

Kaden seemed to be the only one not acting this way and he assumed that whatever Lacera's version of 'voting' among the Tough Nuts was... it was a poor example of the democratic process.

Lacera looked over her Tough Nuts with a sharp gaze. After a moment, though, she nodded and returned to the monitor,

"Then, if there are no more complaints-"

"Um..." Kaden began cautiously, "What exactly is Blitzkrieg?"

Lacera didn't look at Kaden as she answered, "Blitzkrieg is one of the most basic and open entry combat games in the Military field," she explained as she tapped a few more icons on her controller.

The large image on the screen slid away and was replaced by several aerial views and a topographic layout of what appeared to be a box canyon.

"This is Sanguine Gulch," Lacera explained proudly. "The rules are simple, everyone is split into two groups and put on either side of the gulch and their sole objective is to reach the other side alive. The first person to make it to the opposite side in each group wins a hefty bolt reward and a bundle of Military Field points. It's just like the MSE Tournament for the Fuzzies," Lacera explained. "Only, instead of dumb rookies getting destroyed by slightly 'less' dumb rookies, it's full of students with more, well, skill."

The sound of someone loudly clearing their throat interrupted the group's thoughts and Lacera turned to spot an irritated look on her sister's face.

Lacera smiled apologetically, "I mean, 'mostly' dumb rookies."

Viscera huffed her dissatisfaction, but said nothing else and returned her attention to the screen.

"Well, that doesn't sound too bad," Kaden said innocently.

"Ha," laughed Varin before shaking her head, "how naive the young are."

Before Kaden could reply, Wraith spoke up again, "The game has no entry restrictions! That means no level prerequisite or limits, no bolt entrance fee, and no equipment regulations. The second that start buzzer goes off, it turns into a free for all as the slow, heavily armed participants on your side immediately try to take out anyone they think can outrun them."

At this, Torque rumbled into activity, "Truth!" he bellowed. "No matter how quickly one plays their instrument, inevitably a few tiny notes always manage to flitter away out of earshot. Besides, I prefer classical over electro."

At this, Torque and Wraith glared at each other, having realized that they were natural enemies.

"And that's saying nothing of the opposite group," chimed in Lorna enthusiastically, more inquisitive than spiteful of the game. "The first person to touch their opposing wall wins big. The second person, who reached their opposite wall from the other group gets barely half of what first prize is. This is good motivation to take down anyone you cross paths with. As Wraith said, there is no third prize, so you're essentially getting shot from all sides at all times."

Kaden nodded his head, "You're right, that does sound awful. Why are you doing it again?"

Lacera crossed her arms, not used to being questioned this much, "Because, this is one of the few Military Field games with open conflict, where we can all attack other participants freely. We got lucky, getting paired up with the Gold Bolts in the first round, but there's no telling what the chances of coming across Kor are in any other games."

Kaden thought about Lacera's words for a moment, "If the problem is a matter of meeting up with him, why don't you just challenge Kor to an exhibition match? You can challenge anyone within three levels of yours, right?"

Lacera nodded, "Yes, that's true, but all sanctioned grudge matches are heavily regulated. Stealing equipment, even if it was ours to begin with, is not allowed."

"Well that's not a problem," countered Kaden. "Like I said, Kor's got this whole 'warrior's honor' thing. If you beat him in a fight, he's then honor bound to serve you until he's repaid the life debt... or whatever."

The group all looked at Kaden strangely, but it was Viscera who spoke first, "Are you saying he'll do 'anything' you tell him to if you beat him?"

Kaden shrugged, "Pretty much, yeah. It's a Red Lombax thing. The whole time we were on Sargasso he was obsessed with repaying his 'life debt' from getting beat in the CtD. It was actually really creepy, especially at first."

"That's fascinating!" declared Lorna excitedly. "It makes sense that warrior based culture would have a hierarchy dictated by combat, but isn't that kind of private?" she then asked. "I mean if the rest of the school knew about this, there'd be a line forming to try and fight him, well a longer one than there is now... with us at the front," she added as she realized the irony.

Kaden thought about the question and it made his head hurt, specifically the left side, "Nope," he declared free of guilt. "I don't care if every student in the Military Field takes a swing at him, though, I'm sure he'd actually enjoy that."

At this Varin leaned in to whisper in Kaden's ear, "Judging by how Kor cleaned his gauntlet on your cheek fur, I'm guessing he paid his debt back 'somehow'. Are you leaving out juicy bits from your story of beating the Wigwump… and does it have to do with why most of your fur is newly grown?"

"Later," promised Kaden, intent on not giving the Tough Nuts another reason to laugh at him today.

"But that still leaves a problem," continued Lacera after having considered Kaden's words. "As much as I hate to say it, I don't know if I could take Kor one-on-one again. True, I underestimated him last time, but he wasn't exactly at full either. I never thought I'd have to deal with anyone crazy enough to use Inferno Mode."

"Then make the terms of the match say he can't use it," offered Kaden simply. "He'll definitely accept if it's a challenge from you."

Lacera shook her head, "Even if that were true, I still couldn't risk it. I didn't want to tell you all this, but after I was taken down by a level 3 in single combat, my best skill, I got a warning from Commander Fortis' staff. They said I'm on the chopping block now and that they are considering demoting me back down to level 3 myself."

"But level threes aren't allowed to run division clubs," said Varin. "If you get demoted, won't that mean the Tough Nuts get disbanded?"

Lacera nodded solemnly, "I won't underestimate Kor Vol'terran again, and so, I'm not willing to risk another straight on fight with him just yet."

Kaden sighed, "Then just make the terms of the match one-on-two, or, by the council, one-on-five if that's what you want. He'll still agree to it."

Lacera raised a very confused eyebrow at Kaden, "That's crazy. Who in their right mind would be willing to accept a match with such ridiculous odds stacked against them?"

"Nobody," answered Kaden simply. "And that's exactly why the nut in the red armor will happily accept. Tell you what, I'll send him the official challenge, if he accepts, you guys can fight in the next couple of days. If he doesn't, then you can still do your Blitzkrieg thing afterward."

After hearing Kaden's plan, the mood in the room seemed to lighten a bit,

"Sounds like a much better option to me," noted Wraith.

"One's own, personal performance can only be truly appreciated in a quintet or less," added Torque.

However, Lacera did not seem to be warming in any way.

"What's wrong, boss?" asked Varin curiously. She could not see a downside, "What's there to lose?"

"It's just..." Lacera began hesitantly. "It seems like a waste."

"What does?" questioned Kaden, seeing his hopes of finishing this meeting early and spending the rest of his day in bed fading.

"This," answered Lacera raising her hand to the monitors, "I mean, we just went through all that exposition. Aren't you at least a 'little' disappointed that we're not actually going to do a Blitzkrieg?"

A tidal wave of groans and irritated growls erupted from the gathered Lombaxes before each one got up from their seat.

"Oh come on," pressed Lacera as the group started to disperse, "I even had a plan involving a genetically enhanced super-monkey!"

Lorna stopped moving, "What?" she demanded. She then turned to Varin with a worried look on her face, "She's not talking about Simon again, is she?"

Varin appeared to have just remembered something, "Oh right, so there was an 'actual' reason I brought you."

Lorna's following complaints were muffled as Varin pushed out of the doorway.

Lacera looked around at the now empty room, slightly disappointed but otherwise optimistic.

She then pressed another icon on her control panel and the monitor changed again,

*Punch, Punch... Slam*

*Punch, Punch... Slam*

*Punch, Punch... Slam*

"Hello new ringtone," she grinned.


End file.
